Instead of heavy metal crushing her skull, Belladonna opened her eyes to see a panicked Great White madly flailing around the room on fire. It was then that she saw the lone camera tucked away in the corner and understood what had happened. While her communications with the other Mox had been cut, Ivy still had control of the camera systems and remote hacked Great White with an Overheat quick hack. However, it didn't take long for the effects to wear off and Great White, after regaining his composure, smashed the camera with his warhammer.
Seizing the opportunity, Belladonna pulled out her Unity and fired three rounds into the ogre's back. The bullets hit their mark but bounced harmlessly off of Great White.
Turning back towards her, Great White flashed his predatory smile once again. "Ain't sub-dermal armor grand? Gunna need something stronger than that peashooter to hurt me."
Great White suddenly dashed towards her and readied another swing. Belladonna rolled out of the way as the hammer whooshed past where her head had been and opened fire with three more rounds. Again, no effect. The brute opted for an overhead smash with his weapon, but Belladonna was long gone before the hammer slammed into the concrete floor. Carefully weighing her options, Belladonna knew her Unity was no good with the enemy's sub-dermal armored skin. No doubt he was armored anywhere vital organs were, but there had to be a weak gap in the armor somewhere. An idea popped into Belladonna's head, though it momentarily embarrassed her to even consider it.
"That really all you've got, you brute?" Belladonna asked hauntingly in the hopes that it would provide the opening she needed.
It worked. Great White snarled, likely more out of his frustration at his inability to land a hit than her words, but he charged at her in a blind fury. Just as the monster stepped forward ready to take his next swing, Belladonna dove between his legs, cast [Ice Spike], and sent it directly into the rectum of the Animal. The sickening sucking sound of ice piercing the body of Great White told her his rear was not armored. Blood spurted from the entrance wound and out from where the spike jutted out of the man's groin. In shock, Great White dropped his mighty hammer with a clanging thud and dropped to his knees.
> Attribute Increased - Reflexes - 10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/[100] - Level 2 Unlocked
>
> Skill Increased - Shinobi - 10/20/30/40/50/[60]/70/80/90/[100] - 40xp Needed to Level Up
>
> Skill Increase - Spell - Ice Spike - 10/20/30/40/[50]/[60]/70/80/90/[100] - 50xp Needed to Unlock Tier 2 Ice Spike
>
> Mana - 5/30
Shock led to harrowing screams of pain as the man clawed vainly at the icicle. A laughing Johnny Silverhand materialized sitting atop a nearby desk clearly enjoying the spectacle.
[HA HA HA HA HA HA, now that's the kind of shit you don't see with cyberware!]
Ignoring Johnny, Belladonna knew a wounded enemy was still a dangerous enemy and needed to end Great White fast. She turned to his hammer and walked up to the weapon. It did not take a genius to see it would be too heavy for her to lift naturally, so she cast [Enchant - Feather Lightness] on the weapon. Now the weapon was light enough to pick up, yet just as dangerous as it was. This was proved when Belladonna's own overhead swing connected firmly, and messily, with the Animal's skull.
> Attribute Increase - Body - 10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/[100] - Level 2 Unlocked
>
> Attribute Increase - Magic - 10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/[100] - Tier 2 Proficnency Unlocked - Mana Increased from 30 to 50.
>
> Skill Increase - Solo - 10/20/30/40/50/[60]/70/80/90/[100] - 40xp Needed to Level Up
>
> Skill Increase - Spell - Enchant - Feather Lighteness - 10/20/30/40/50/[60]/70/80/90/[100] - Tier 2 Enchantments Unlocked
>
> Mana - 0/50
No sooner had the deed been finished than the Mox squad arrived. The three other fighters took note of the scene, then without hesitation turned towards Tycoon still chilling in his ice bath. Now that the coast was clear, Ivy made her way to the warehouse and went to work safely disconnecting her fellow netrunner from the Animal's computer system. Belladonna watched on as her curiosity over the fact a Maelstromer was in any way connected with the Mox. It seemed a contradiction to her that they would work with a person connected to a gang infamous for snatching vulnerable people off the street to commit wicked experiments on them. Many a Watson sex worker, a population typically protected by the Mox, fell prey to Maelstrom after all.
"Okay, bringing him back, give 'im some space," Ivy said disconnecting the personal wire jack from her skull from the Animal's computer terminal near the tub.
Tycoon's six cybernetic eyes winked back on as he gasped for air, their calming teal color contrasting from the oppressive red of the typical Maelstromer.
The male netrunner let out a weak "Thank you" before standing up and out of the tub. It was then that Belladonna noticed Tycoon was naked, a fact that alongside his dip in an ice bath no doubt contributed to his convulsing. Yet whatever discomfort she may have felt quickly melted away as she noticed the various cuts and bruises all over his body in different stages of healing and freshness. Thankfully, Ivy had brought a duffle bag containing a jacket and pants which Tycoon graciously accepted.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"C'mon, let's get you back to Lizzie's," Victoria said reassuringly.
<<>>
After being debriefed by Susie Q, Belladonna and Victoria chose to venture southeast towards Japantown to celebrate the completion of "Witch's" first job. Belladonna was amazed at the beauty of the dazzling lights and holographic projections of Cherry Blossom Market. Eventually, after browsing the many stalls and stands where merchants hawked their wares, the two sat down to eat at a ramen stand. The warm broth and flavorful noodles were a welcome sensation.
"That was some good shit you did back there," Victoria said between slurping up mouthfuls of noodles.
Belladonna did the same and said, "Thanks."
The pair were interrupted by a third person sitting on the last available seat at the stand. Belladonna turned to see it was none other than Tycoon, freshly bandaged and evidently fully mobile after his ordeal. He ordered a bowl of ramen for himself, not addressing his two Mox allies until he had finished scarfing the bowl's contents in a flurry. As he ordered a second, he faced Belladonna and Victoria and smiled.
"Sorry about that," Tycoon said patting his stomach, "Haven't eaten in days. Thanks for the rescue Victoria and..."
"Belladonna," the elven spellcaster replied without turning to face the man.
Tycoon frowned. "There, uh, a problem or something?"
Sensing the tension, Victoria interjected, "B here had a pretty bad run-in with some Maelstrom goons a little while ago."
The netrunner pondered the explanation before getting the hint. "Oh yeah, people don't usually see a friendly face when they see my mug. I'll admit, I used to be part of Maelstrom, but me and those gonks have been history for close to ten years now. To make a long story short, I used to be Arasaka net security, got canned, tried saving my preem implants by getting jailbroken by Maelstrom, but quickly found ganglife was not for me."
"Now he works for the Mox," Victoria added as he happily took a mug of cold beer from the stall proprietor, "Fixed him up with some nice blue neon and now handles all manner of cyber-security jobs to keep Lizzie's Bar safe and secure."
Feeling a bit relieved at the revelation, Belladonna decided to change the subject and asked, "So what happened with you and the Animals?"
Tycoon gave himself a good smack to the forehead in embarrassment, "Went way over my own head, choomba. Fuckers like the Animals can be found all over Night City, but for the most part, they were chilling in the Pacifica district. Well, something has got them migrating for better pastures I 'spose."
"Find out what?" Victoria inquired.
"Well, after their old alpha Sasquatch got flatlined by a merc named V back in '77, a lot of smaller leaders have been jockeying for power. The new alpha goes by the name Darwin and they've got the gang going in bold new directions. Still the same muscle-bound gonks they've always been, but their branching out by acquiring a corps of netrunners as part of a grand plan."
"And you discovered all this how?"
"Turns out you shouldn't answer every job you find on the net. I know Susie Q pays me well, but I found a side gig that promised me the opportunity to take a swipe at my old bosses at 'Saka. Classic sting. Before I knew it I was getting my ass kicked by several Animals, told I worked for them now, and have been carted to all sorts of places being jacked into god knows what. Plus side was that I was privy to a lot of supposedly encrypted data and got the gist of most of what I told 'ya."
"So the new Animal alpha's been klepping runners and moving into our turf," Victoria mused, "But why are they hightailing it out of Pacifica to begin with?"
"Don't follow the news? Arasaka's been doing "community reclamation" in Pacifica the last couple of weeks in an effort to spruce it up and turn it from Combat Zone to the corpo wonderland it used to be. If nothing else it's been an opportunity to test all sorts of new weapons and tech spearheaded by that new Chief Operating Officer of theirs. Can't have the new Sodom and Gomorrah tainted by gangoons prowling about. Better to make it our problem I guess."
<<>>
Belladonna sat on the rooftop once again staring at the three towers of light from the city center off in the distance. Johnny Silverhand fizzled into existence and joined her, a cigarette already lit to match the anger burning within him.
[Fucking Arasaka, of course.]
"What's wrong, Johnny?" asked Belladonna.
[That's the corp I fought my whole life and nothing I or anyone has done jack shit to put an end to their tyranny. Bombing their tower? Nadda. Breaking into Mikoshi? Zilch.]
"What are you talking about?"
[Nothing you need to worry about, it's all several lifetimes ago. The point is, you can trace much of the bad of Night City back to them. I'm no fan of corps in principle, but 'Saka's the worst of them all. Just can't see to kill the hydra is all.]
Johnny flicked his cigarette down to the street below but just as quickly lit another one and took a drag.
[Nice work out there today, seems like you're getting used to the Night City lifestyle pretty quickly.]
"Thought I wasn't going to make it."
[Well, word of advice, don't hesitate. Freezing up can cost 'ya.]
Pointing towards the back of her head towards her ARCHON neural interface, Belladonna asked, "Any new insights you want to share about this?"
['Fraid not. But if possible I'd start considering getting yourself some chrome. You got lucky with Great White today with Ivy on your six, but you can't always rely on having backup. Hell, you only got a few chances with that magic of yours too. You need to have an ace up your sleeve, preferably several.]
Belladonna knew there was truth in what he said, though her time as a member of a party that stuck to each other through thick and thin biased her judgment. Cain. Bonderous. Chaucer. Their names and faces flooded back and reminded her that she was alone in this world. The Mox had been good to her, but only Victoria could be considered something of a friend. It just wasn't the same. She bade Johnny goodnight and walked back to her quarters. As she climbed into bed and let sleep take hold of her, the last thought on her mind was, Was it all worth it?